India's downstream regulator, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board, is likely to invite bids to build two natural gas pipelines in the next week, chairman Lalit Mansingh told reporters in Mumbai Wednesday on the sidelines of an industry event.
One of the pipelines is a 1,700 km (1,054 mile) trunk route from Surat in Gujarat, western India, to Paradip in Orissa on the east coast. The second pipeline, the 270 km Asansol-Howrah pipeline in the state of West Bengal would mainly transport gas from coal bed methane blocks in the state.
PNGRB is also likely to award three routes for which bids were opened last month very soon, Mansingh said. Gujarat State Petronet Ltd-led consortium has won the financial bid for all the three routes.
The three trunk routes are, Mallavaram in Andhra Pradesh to Bhilwara in Rajahsthan, Mehsana in Gujarat to Bhatinda in Punjab in north India and Bhatinda to Jammu and Sringar, Mansingh said.
Apart from these trunk pipelines which will create a national gas grid, PNGRB is also in the process of rolling out city gas distribution network to cover 300 geographical areas in the country over the next five years.
Mansingh has made a case for natural gas for city gas distribution to be considered a priority sector for gas allocation by the government.
A powerful group of ministers last year had allocated gas from the eastern offshore Krishna Godavari basin of Reliance Industries to various sectors of which power and fertilizer were given high priority.
City gas has been allocated 5 million cu m/day from KG-D6. But due to some technical issues that has not been finalized, Mansingh said.
He said as per PNGRB's city gas roll-out plan at least 20% of the natural gas consumed in the country has to be allocated for city gas distribution.
One of the pipelines is a 1,700 km (1,054 mile) trunk route from Surat in Gujarat, western India, to Paradip in Orissa on the east coast. The second pipeline, the 270 km Asansol-Howrah pipeline in the state of West Bengal would mainly transport gas from coal bed methane blocks in the state.
PNGRB is also likely to award three routes for which bids were opened last month very soon, Mansingh said. Gujarat State Petronet Ltd-led consortium has won the financial bid for all the three routes.
The three trunk routes are, Mallavaram in Andhra Pradesh to Bhilwara in Rajahsthan, Mehsana in Gujarat to Bhatinda in Punjab in north India and Bhatinda to Jammu and Sringar, Mansingh said.
Apart from these trunk pipelines which will create a national gas grid, PNGRB is also in the process of rolling out city gas distribution network to cover 300 geographical areas in the country over the next five years.
Mansingh has made a case for natural gas for city gas distribution to be considered a priority sector for gas allocation by the government.
A powerful group of ministers last year had allocated gas from the eastern offshore Krishna Godavari basin of Reliance Industries to various sectors of which power and fertilizer were given high priority.
City gas has been allocated 5 million cu m/day from KG-D6. But due to some technical issues that has not been finalized, Mansingh said.
He said as per PNGRB's city gas roll-out plan at least 20% of the natural gas consumed in the country has to be allocated for city gas distribution.
